Chopard and Julia Roberts: The Perfect Partners-in-Design

Chopard’s historical acquisition of the Insofu Emerald turns heads again with the unveiling of its first capsule collection with the cut and polished stones. It’s a collaboration between Caroline Scheufele and actor Julia Roberts, whose shared environmental and ethical values with the maison makes her the perfect partner-in-design.

Chopard made history when it took the decision to acquire the Insofu Emerald, an extraordinary 6,225-carat rough discovered in Zambia’s Kagem mine. Captivated by its verdant hue and sold on its untold potential, Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele had the stone carefully examined, studied and then cut and polished in Chopard’s Geneva workshops and in Jaipur, employing only the best cutters. 

The acquisition of the famous emerald also illustrates Chopard’s commitment to sustainable luxury, which has long been in the heart of the Scheufele family. Since 2012, Chopard has been certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council, and it didn’t stop there. A year later, the maison unveiled its Journey to Sustainable Luxury initiative, a multi-year programme that actively seeks to improve the environment and support the lives of those at the beginning of the supply chain. One of the its first campaigns was the Green Carpet Challenge, a collaboration with Livia Giuggioli Firth, film producer, environmental activist and the founder of Eco-Age to create the first high-jewellery collection using Fairmined gold. 

The journey, as Caroline Schuefele recalled in a different interview, came when Firth asked her about where Chopard’s gold originated from. Realising she didn’t know the answer, Scheufele went back to Switzerland and together with her brother decided they needed to do something about where all their raw materials come from.

Since then, of course, Chopard’s Green Carpet Collection has been a mainstay of the house, with exquisite jewellery pieces added every now and then, which use only traceable and sustainably sourced gemstones and Fairmined gold in their making. And since 2018, of course, Chopard has achieved its ambitious goal of using 100-percent responsibly sourced gold in all its jewellery and watch collections. 

Acquiring a rough stone marked yet another important milestone in Chopard’s quest for sustainability. Buying the incredible Insofu emerald enabled the maison to track the stone’s entire journey, from first examination to gem-cutting and jewellery design, then all the way to its final creation. Insofu – its name references the Bemba word for “elephant” – alludes to the beautiful stone’s impressive size and shape. Few stones of this calibre have the same degree of traceability, so it’s with great pride that Chopard can claim the Insofu emerald as part of its collection. 

As extraordinary as this story already was, Scheufele had in mind to make it even more so by asking actor Julia Roberts, a long-time ambassador of the house, to partner with her on the design. 

Anyone who’s met Caroline Scheufele – or indeed her brother and co-president Karl-Friedrich – will see just how much the family values the connections made over the years. Chopard has been an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival for decades, dressing stars in its glittering jewels and precision timepieces for red-carpet appearances. But transcending celebrity and star power, these Chopard ambassadors have come to be genuine friends, whose relationships with Caroline and Karl-Friedrich Schuefele extend beyond the red carpet and the spotlight.

And that’s certainly the case with Roberts, whose well-documented contributions to the cause of environmental protection began after her title role in the film Erin Brockovich, for which her multiple awards included an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Her passion for sustainability runs deep, and her relationship with Scheufele is one characterised by mutual respect, trust and free-flowing conversation. Today, more than being just a face of Chopard, Roberts takes on the role of designer in this significant collaboration – her very first.

“Caroline immediately caught my attention when she told me the story of her exceptional Insofu Emerald,” says Roberts in a statement. “It was such an exciting challenge when she later proposed we work on a bespoke design, and together we’ve had a lot of fun bringing this set into reality, creating jewellery that’s beautiful, sustainable and mixes the timeless allure of emerald with stunning colours and a stone I cherish – the turquoise.”

“Collaborating with Julia on this capsule collection has been an incredible journey,” says Scheufele. “From the moment we discovered the Insofu Emerald, we knew it was a gem that could inspire greatness. This parure is a testament to that inspiration, a fashion of our shared passion for beauty, elegance and responsible luxury.”

The result is beautiful, like a vivid love letter to India, mingling avant-garde execution with heirloom aesthetics. Titled the Chopard x Julia Roberts collection, the capsule Roberts and Scheufele designed together includes a parure of a necklace, a pair of earrings and a ring from a selection of the Insofu-cut emeralds, which are then bravely and vibrantly juxtaposed with matte sky-blue turquoise and juicy-red rubellites.

The show-stopping necklace, in Fairmined rose gold, features drops of pear- and oval-shaped emeralds totalling 73.56 carats, pear- and oval-shaped rubellites totalling 38.31 carats and cabochon turquoise totalling 13.93 carats in exquisite tassels that drape across the décolletage. The style is echoed in the chandelier-style earrings, which feature 10.3-carats of pear- and oval-shaped emeralds. And lastly, to complete the set, the cocktail ring fans out over the fingers like a delicate bloom, its emerald heart surrounded by drop-shaped gem petals of rubellite and turquoise.

Roberts is in good hands with the Chopard family, her fresh eye and taste making her the perfect partner-in-design to Caroline Scheufele. Will there be more creative collaborations in the pipeline? We can only wait and see.